Wednesday news (includes West ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are ready to battle it out for Bournemouth and Argentina defender, Marcos Senesi, 28, who has informed the Cherries he is leaving the club in 2026. (Teamtalk), external

Manchester United are keeping track of 19-year-old winger Yan Diomande, who has been capped by Ivory Coast and valued at more than £80m by RB Leipzig. (Talksport), external

Manchester United have yet to hold talks with Atletico Madrid over 25-year-old England midfielder Conor Gallagher, but are aware the Spaniards would prefer to sell him in a permanent £35m deal. (Mail - subscription required), external

Liverpool are monitoring Brentford forward Igor Thiago, 24, as they look at attacking reinforcements. (CaughtOffside), external

Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace are all eyeing Ajax's 22-year-old Dutch defender Youri Baas. (Teamtalk), external

Arsenal are keen on AC Milan and Italy Under-21 left-back, Davide Bartesaghi, 19, who has impressed for the Serie A club this term. (La Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external

Manchester United are set to delay any decision on the future of Dutchman Joshua Zirkzee with their squad stretched by injuries and Africa Cup of Nations departures. The 24-year-old forward is the subject of interest from West Ham and Roma, among others. (ESPN), external

Bayern Munich are keeping tabs on Cardiff teenager Dylan Lawlor. Turning 20 on 1 January, the centre-back already has three senior Wales caps. (Talksport), external

Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle are all interested in Marseille's French midfielder Darryl Bakola, 18. (Footmercato - in French), external

Everton are actively exploring loan opportunities for left-back Adam Aznou, 19, with the Morocco international yet to feature for the first team. (Teamtalk), external

Rennes are targeting a loan move for Manchester City's 19-year-old Argentine midfielder Claudio Echeverri, although they will have competition from Villarreal and Girona. (Ouest-France - in French)




Sky Paper Talk

PREMIER LEAGUE

Manchester United are hopeful that Bruno Fernandes will return from injury before their clash with Manchester City on January 17, meaning the captain would miss only five matches - The Times.

Chelsea could have signed lifelong Blues fan Antoine Semenyo for just £2m six years ago - The Sun.

Antoine Semenyo's release clause at Bournemouth is only active for the first 10 days of the January transfer window - BBC.

Roma want to sign Chelsea defender Axel Disasi on loan - BBC.

Manchester United are set to appoint Newcastle's head of youth recruitment Paul Midgley to the same role at Old Trafford - Daily Mail.

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

Robert Lewandowski will sit down with Barcelona manager Hansi Flick at the beginning of 2026 to discuss his future - Sport.

Monaco will not convert Ansu Fati's loan move from Barcelona into a permanent deal - El Nacional.

SCOTTISH FOOTBALL

Celtic goalkeeper Tobi Oluwayemi is attracting interest from clubs in England and Europe - The Scottish Sun.

Hearts are set to sign defender Jordi Altena is set to be their first January signing after beating off competition from the MLS - The Scottish Sun.





Sport Witness

Nottingham Forest player ‘ideal market opportunity’ for West Ham – Dyche nervous over talks

By Naveen Ullal

West Ham United have joined the race to sign Nottingham Forest’s Arnaud Kalimuendo in the winter market, according to Jeunes Footeux.

The striker joined Nottingham Forest from Stade Rennais, when current West Ham boss Nuno Espírito Santo was in charge of the Reds.

Kalimuendo has played 82 minutes from eight Premier League matches. He scored two goals, and both were in the Europa League this season. His situation has seen a few clubs try to sign him in January.

On Tuesday, Le Parisien reported Paris FC have made an approach for a loan with an option to buy. Jeunes Footeux now backs up the Ligue 1 side’s interest when covering the latest on West Ham. They make it clear it’s their own information.

West Ham’s Niclas Füllkrug is set to join AC Milan, and this has forced them to look for a striker. They have the Nottingham Forest attacker in their list.

The 23-year-old appeals to the Hammers’ coaching staff, who see him as an ‘ideal market opportunity’ to replace the German.

It’s claimed the ‘deal is far from done’ because Sean Dyche’s side are reluctant to improve their direct rival’s squad. West Ham are 18th in the table, five points behind 17th placed Nottingham Forest. This could allow Paris FC to swoop in for Kalimuendo.

Whether Nuno can help West Ham lure the Frenchman remains to be seen.

On Tuesday, Nice-Matin reported OGC Nice are in the picture to sign Kalimuendo on loan next month.




La Lazio

Castellanos vs. West Ham: London has other priorities.

EXCLUSIVE - West Ham are interested in Castellanos, but the Lazio striker is not currently a priority for the English club

The Hammers have loaned Niklas Fullkrug to AC Milan with an option to buy set at around €14 million. The German striker had also been linked to Lazio in recent weeks, but, as we revealed exclusively, there was never any contact between the parties to discuss a potential move to the capital. A similar situation applies to Castellanos. According to exclusive information gathered by our editorial team, Taty is a player the Irons have genuinely expressed interest in, but have never explored the matter in depth. West Ham are looking for a striker with his characteristics, a dynamic striker who can play in the center of a three-man attacking trio of Bowen and Summerville, or alongside the English captain in a 4-3-1-2. Espirito Santo had mentioned Zirkzee and Chiesa, both of whom were unattainable for various reasons.

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Thanks Alan.